Quai D’Orsay Coronas Grande POS AUG 06

[sje]

cant wait for you to review the Partagas SD2 or the edmundo Dante i know you have (or had).

spiro

[Tampa1257]

Excellent review Rob!

Mild to medium, QdO is a flavorful cigar for me. Yes a great cigar for the morning with coffee. The one essence that I typically notice is a citrus toasted tobacco quality with almonds with QdO.

[asmith]

» I have to let you guy’s know that I am a tad dusty this morning after a big night out on the “turps” Saturday.

You were dusty, that table went from bright morning sunshine to afternoon shade. Did you have a kip during that time?

Good review, all things considered.

[Grasso]

» I enjoyed the final third more than the opening two but have overall

» enjoyed the experience which is unique in the world of Habanos.

I've been whittling away at a half-box of '00 or '01 (don't remember which and failed to mark them, heh). The extra 5+ years mine have on them have mellowed the flavors out even more on this cigar. I totally agree about the final third being much more enjoyable than the rest of the smoke. Regardless, they're fantastic for those times when you're after a light, but flavorful experience.

[broozer]

excellent review rob!! this is one of my favorites and it's a shame HSA decided to stop making them.

bruce

[Van55]

You have to appreciate a man who says he is going to do something and does it. Thanks for the review Rob.

I happen to agree with most of your observations. I think that, next to Trinidad Reyes, these make practically the perfect first cigar of the day. The flavors are always pleasant and typically Cuban. I think "mild" is a misnomer for them. And as a noted Hong Kong smoker once told me, "No one would bother to counterfeit Quai D'Orsay cigars."

[Spartan]

I'm a mild/medium kinda guy, the QdO has been on my "must try" list. thanks for the great review!

[El Presidente]

Quai D’Orsay Coronas Grande POS AUG 06

I have to let you guy’s know that I am a tad dusty this morning after a big night out on the “turps” Saturday. It was the end of my Rugby training season and the team laid on a fitting 84-7 finale. The schools coaches headed out for “drinks” 5pm Saturday at the Casino and while I did not see sunrise Sunday it was a near miss thing.

I was asked to try and review a Quai D’Orsay Corona Grande on a fresh palate this morning. I hadn’t had a cigar since Friday so I was good to go in assessing a cigar which has always been a nemesis. The Quai D’Orsay line has never captured my imagination but Chuck and Van convinced me to re-assess.

They look great. Definitive Colorado wrapper which always looks the same on QD. There is little doubt that the wrapper is carefully selected for uniformity.

Construction is immaculate. The wrapper is the colour of light toast. Aroma at cold is predominantly fields of dry stalks mixed with light Vuelta Abajo tobacco. There are some sweet notes in the periphery.

Serrated the cap to find a perfect draw and a dry grass and tobacco note on the lips.

Slowly fired up the foot of the cigar so much wanting a statement to be made. I love it when a cigar falls into stride quickly with a premise that “I am Partagas….or Bolivar…or Cohiba”. The opening was light medium body and the flavour subtle but uniquely Quai D’Orsay….soft, long dry grass stalks, toasted tobacco, just a hint of caramelized sugar. This is no powerhouse, this is a cigar which pitches itself as a class act, a cigar which will not attack the senses, a cigar with a refined personality/ While I appreciate what it is delivering I am still not convinced that it suits me or my palate. I keep looking for a little “more” but I am a heathen in many things and this may just be another.

The cigar is building in terms of flavour if not body. There is a little milk coffee binding to the mix, a little toasted almond. The aroma is excellent….pure tobacco. The ash holds tight for such a young cigar and is dark and well structured. The strength of this cigar is the purity of its toasted tobacco base. It is not overly complex but I can see what the blender has tried to achieve. The highest quality tobacco (predominantly seco and volado) to deliver the cleanest tobacco taste imaginable. They have achieved it.

Into the final third of the cigar now and the body builds to just short of medium. Complexity is not its strong point but I have come to appreciate its essence and role. As a morning cigar it is perfect. Coupled with a fine coffee and a newspaper on a warm summer morning it would be an ideal paring. You appreciate its clean tobacco flavour with the other flavours of almond and milk coffee just making up the background. Any remnants of sweetness have been gone from the first third. This is a pure high quality cigar focusing on clean tobacco flavours.

I enjoyed the final third more than the opening two but have overall enjoyed the experience which is unique in the world of Habanos. I am still not convinced that the cigar suits me and my tastes. Looking for a similar sized cigar with a similar profile I don’t think there is one. However if you enjoy Fonseca No 1 (excellent) or Sancho Panza Molinos I would certainly give the Quai D’Orsay Coronas Grande a go if only a few singles with your next order.

88/100